Clover-seed-cleaning machine.



PATENTED APR. 17, 1906.

T. M. PRINE.

CLOVER SEED CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6, 1904.

WITNEESES:

FFIOE.

THOMAS M. PRlNE, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

CLOVER-SEED-GLEANING MACHINE;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 17, 1906.

Application filed June 6,1904. Serial No- 211,317.

Improvements in Clover-Seed-Cleaning Ma-v chines; and I do declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of'this specification.

In raising clover the greatest trouble encountered by the farmer is anoxious Weeda species of Iplantain, variously known as ribivort, rippe-grass, and buckhorn, the latter being its familiar name among dealersin clover-seed. In preparing clover-seed for the market and for sowingit is now quite practicable by the use of modern machinery to separatethe clover-seed from all foreign seeds and substances save the seeds ofthe weed referred to; but these seeds are so nearly like the cover-seedin size, Weight, form, and specific gravity that the mechanicalseparation of the two has heretofore been found impossible. The factthat the presence of five per cent. of buckhorn in a bushel ofcloverseed sometimes diminishes its market value as much as seventy-fiveper cent. will illus trate the gravity of the difficulty here pointedout.

My invention relates to and its object is to provide means forovercoming the difficulty above indicated.

In carrying out my inventionI avail myself of the discovery which I havemade that the objectionable seeds referred to contain, at or near theirsurface, a substance which upon being moistened becomes mucilaginous orviscid and adhesive and that in cloverseed this property is whollyabsent. I utilize this discovery by feeding the mixed seed upon the topof a horizontally-moving end-' less belt or apron which in its course ismoistened before receiving the seed and which, after receiving the seed,is dried. All the foul seed now adheres to the beltand when the driedpart of the belt passes over its pulley and is reversed on its returnpassage the clover-seed, by its own I gravity, drops off into a suitablereceptacle, while the adhering foul seed passes on with the belt andbefore the belt is again moistened is scraped off into another and aseparate receptacle'. I accomplish this operation by means of thedevices and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and shown, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sideelevation of my machine, and Fig. 2 an end elevation of the same seenfrom the left in Fig. 1.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in both views.

In the drawings, 1 is an elongated frame having at one end a drum orpulley 2 and at its other end a drum or pulley 3. Upon these two pulleystravel an endless belt or apron 4, composed of stout canvas or othersuitable fabric or flexible material. The belt 4 is driven by adriving-belt 5 on a pair of coneulleys 6 7, which permit adjustment ofthe speed of travel of the belt 4. on the shaft of pulley 7 is a pinion8, which meshes with and drives gear-wheel 9 on the shaft of drum orpulley 2. The bottom part of the horizontally-traveling belt 4 passesover aroller 10, journaled in the frame of the machine. This roller iscovered with felt. The bottom of the roller 10 is immersed and travelsin a tank of water 11.

12 is a hopper into which is fed the seed to be treated. In the mouth ofthe hopper, which is as wide as the belt 4, is a feed-wheel 13, whichfeeds the seed evenlyu on the moving belt below. This feed-whee isdriven by a belt 14 upon a cone-pulley 15 upon the shaft of thefeed-wheel and a cone-pulley 16 upon the shaft of the drum 3. By meansof this pair of cone pulleys the feed of seed upon the belt 4 isregulated as may be desired. The top portion of the belt 4 travelsthrough an elongated box 17 and slides upon or close to a horizontalcoil of steam-pipe 18, inclosed within the box. of the box 17, the blastbeing discharged at the other end of the box through air-duct 20. Nearthe drum 2, journaled in the frame, is a wheel 21,having wings or vanesas long as the width of the belt 4, so disposed that they lightly touchthe under side of the upper part of the belt 4.

22 is a wheel or drum journaled in the frame, having radially-projectingbrushes 23, which when this wheel is revolved lightly A fan 19 blowsinto one end brush the under side of the under part of the belt 4. Thetwo wheels or drums 21 22 are driven by chain 24, engaging sprockets onthe shafts of the drum 2 .and wheels 21 22. Beneath that side of thedrum2 where the belt 4 passes downwardly and changes its direction is ahopper the width of the machine, connected with a suitable conveyer 26,connccted with a proper receptacle for the cleaned clover-seed. Beneaththe brushes 23 is another hopper 27, also connected with saidreceptacle. The under side of the belt .4 rests upon and travels over ascraper 28, which extends across the machine the full width of the beltand over a hopper 29.

The 0 eration of my machine is as follows: The pulfeys 6 7 being driven,motion is communicated to the belt 4, the feed mechanism, the moisteningmechanism, the knockingwheel, and the brushing-wheel. The fan is alsoset going and the steam-coil is heated. The belt 4 as it passes over thewheel 10 is moistened. The seed to be treated is fed onto the moistenedportion of the belt. Upon coming in contact with the moisture of thebelt each foul seed immediatel develops a viscid substance which causest e seed to adhere to the belt. As the belt passes through the box 17and over the heated steam-pipes the belt and the seeds are rapidlydried, the eva orated moisture being carried off by the air-blast. Whenthe upper part of belt 4 passes above the wheel 21,

the wings or vanes of the wheel lightly knock against the under side ofthe belt and loosen any clover-seed that may have adhered to the belt orto a neighboring buckhorn. As the belt travels downwardly over the drum2 the clover-seeds drop into the ho per 25, the buckhorn passing on withthe elt. Should any clover-seed still adhere to the belt, it is nowremoved by a slight touch of the revolving brushes 23 and drops into thehopper 27. The belt continuing in its course passes over the scraper 28,and all the adhering buckhorn is now scraped off and drops into hopper29. Thusa complete separation of the clover-seed from the foul seed iseffected.

Having described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent,

1. In a machine of the described class, an apron, means for moving thesame, means for moistening the apron, means for drying the apron, meansfor feeding seed upon the apron after such moistening and before suchdrying, and means for removing such seed after the drying, the adheringseed at one apron, means at one end of the frame for feedmg seeds uponthe apron after the moistening operation, and means at the other end ofthe frame for removing the adhering and the non-adhering seeds atseparate points after the drying operation.

3. In a machine of the described class, a frame, a pulley at each end ofthe frame, an endless apron traveling on the pulleys, means for heatingthe upper part of the apron, means for moistening the lower part of theapron, means for supplying an airblast to the upper part of the apron,means at one end of the frame for feeding seed onto the apron, means atthe other end of the frame for loosening and removing part of the seed,and a scraper which engagesthe apron for loosening and removing theremaining part of the seed.

4. In a machine for removing muc ilaginous coated seeds from clover andother non-mucilaginous coated varieties, an endless traveling apron,means for dampening the outer surface thereof, a hopper containing theseed to be cleaned, means for feedin I the seed in regulated quantitiesfrom the opper upon thedampened surface of the apron and fordistributing it thereon, means for drying said apron, brushes forremoving all but the mucilaginous coated seeds, and scrapers, actingafter said brushes have acted, for removing the mucilaginous coatedseeds.

5. In seed-separating apparatus, the combination with a frame, of anendless belt having upper and lower stretches, means engaging the lowerstretch of the belt for moistening the same, means located above theupper stretch of the belt for feeding seed thereto while moistened, andheating means located between the stretches of the belt.

6. In seed-separating apparatus, the com bination with a movable carrierfor seed, of means coacting with the carrier in the successive ordernamed, to wit: means for moistening the belt, means for feeding seed tothe belt while moistened, means for drying the belt with the seedthereon, and means for re moving the seed from the belt that clingsthereto.

7. In seed-separating apparatus, the combination with a movable carrier,for seed, of means coacting with the carrier in the successive ordernamed, to wit: means for moistening the belt, means for feeding seed tothe same while moistened, means for drying the belt with the seedthereon, means for collecting the seed that does not adhere to the belt,and means for removing the seed that clings to the belt.

8. In seed-separating apparatus, the combination with a carrier-belt, ofmeans for dry ing the same, and means for passing a current of air overthe belt contiguous to the drying means.

9. In seed-separating apparatus, the com- IIO emits hination with asupport, of means for moistening the support, means for drying the same,and means for feeding the seed to the support between the moistening anddrying means and While said support is moistened.

10. In seed-separating ap aretus, the combination with an endless be t,of spaced moistening and drying means, and means for feeding seed to themoistened portion of the belt between said moistening and drying tomeens.

. In testimony whereof I effix my signature in presence of twoWitnesses.

" THOMAS M. PRINE.

